The Hunt
by BLACK WINGS OF THE NIGHT
Summary: It was time to take action and the choice layed in the hands of the person that loved him most. Sakura/Susake SPOILORS


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The hunt

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She wasn't sure what she had agreed to but she knew thing had gone too far and the person she knew as a kid was gone. No matter how much she would love to live in the fantasy that he would come back of his own accord she knew the answer now. She didn't need Shikamaru or any of them to tell her that what she had decided then and there was final. She would take it into her own hands that Uchiha Sasuke would be killed by the ninja of the leaf even if she had to kill him.

Yet no matter how many time she looked at the situation her heart screamed for her to stop, yet it was too late far too late. They had tracked him down after the fight with the Kages wounded but alive his group wasn't in any shape to continue so they slowed him down censurably. Naruto was not told of what she planned to do and it was for the best. If he knew that she planned to murder the person he had been chasing after for more than five years he would be crushed.

Yet what choice did she have now? Sasuke had push too hard and now he was in a hole he could not climb out of. He was too far gone for even her to reach. She kept repeating that to herself but her selfish heart told her that he was a good person. She had thought about the night he left her and learned not to listen to closely to her heart it never did her any good when it came to matter of him. She place the Anbu mask on her face to make sure her face was hidden. She didn't want him to see her face though he would know who she was anyway. This way he couldn't see when she cried as she carried out her mission. This way he won't see the regret in her face as went at him. The time around her ticked slowly as the plan went though her head.

In the end she would be the person to do it. She couldn't leave it to anyone else. She had failed to stop him the first time but this time she would stop him once and for all. " Forgive me Naruto." she whispered to the wind hoping that Naruto would recover soon from the fight with the Kages where he once again save Sasuke just because of a promise he made to her. She wouldn't keep him to that promise any longer one way or another that promise ends tonight.

"You ready Raven?" asked Shikamaru over the ear piece. Her leg quivered as her lips parted to answer

"Proceed as planned. I follow up on my end." She responded as she jumped for her post pulling out a kunai and killing a red bird that was sitting on a tree branch. They had been told of what to expect and that bird was what she expected to find keeping a look out.

" Eagle to Raven, there are four just like that up ahead. Four o'clock two and twelve." Came Neji's voice as she took out the other four birds before he finished the sentence. She counted how many hit the floor and all four where accounted for. It wouldn't be long before they either came to her or go on the move again but seeing as how wounded the report said they where it was more likely they would stand their ground in hopes of surviving then regrouping.

"Raven to Wolf, phase one complete. Begin phase two." she told Shikamaru as she set traps around the area.

"Phase two in process." he muttered as an explosion told her that phase two had already began.

"Eagle to Raven two subjects heading your direction."

" Can you confirm if that's our target?"

"One male one Female." answered Neji as he stayed quiet for a second or two and another explosion rocked the earth. "Eagle to Raven that will be a positive Subject it about 30 meters from your location." he confirmed as she could hear heavy breathing and women yelling in frustration.

"Sasuke come on!" she yelled as the strain on her voice was laced with pain. The earth gave a finale rumble as that gave Sakura the go ahead to start phase three. She hide behind the tree she was standing next to and strained her ears. She would could hear the heavy breathing and crunching of their sandals on the forest floor they weren't being careful which meant they were far to hurt to think things through. " Come Sasuke Just hold on until we get to sound." she cried out. Sakura listened it was a cry she once made to him long ago. The women with him care for him. Did he her though who knew.

She was trying to save him but nothing could save him now and deep down Sakura knew that. They came to her first trap and tripped the wire. " Sasuke!" came her yell as the Kunai sailed though the air hitting wood and flesh.

"There someone here." came his voice a voice that rung bells in her head.

"Are you alright?" asked the women as Sakura counted the steps. One, two, three....four...one more and she would trigger it.

"Do move Karin." he hissed out at her as the last step never came. " I know where your hiding so come out and face me." he barked out. He took the bait and Sakura walked out of where she was hiding. " Anbu." He hissed as he looked at her. She looked at him now and the ragged condition he put himself in. He had an open wound on his left side burn marks around his neck and an broken arm. There was a long gash from then tip of his nose to the right side of his check where Danzo had tried to rip his right eye out. The man was a broken and a battered mess. His eyes were still crimson showing her that he still had some fight left in him.

"Sasuke Uchiha I will be your executioner."

"Many before you have tried and I was in a lot worse shape." he hissed out

" You will not escape this time Sasuke-kun." Realization seem to hit Sasuke as he looked right at the masked Anbu.

"Sakura?" he asked with shock and amusement."You plan to kill me?" he asked in cold voice

" I will not hurt Naruto anymore and for that..." She spoke as she looked at Sasuke. "You need to die."

"What does dobe have anything with you coming here claiming to come and kill me?" he asked

"Because you and I are killing him." she answered as Sasuke lifted his brow at this. " He's trying to keep his promise to me to bring you back but I now know you'll never come back and that he is risking his life on a lost cause." she told him as the very statement seem to struck him.

"So now I'm a lost cause?" he asked as the anger radiated from his eyes.

"Yes, and for that reason I am here to carry out your sentence by becoming a member of an outlaw group your status as a missing nin has been confirmed to trader and elimination is your sentence."

"After all your worthless village has made me go though the damn assholes put on a death warrant on me? And not only that they send you to carry out the orders." he hissed out

"That's where your wrong." she told him as he looked like he was in no mood to joke. " They didn't send me I asked to be the one to kill you." she said in a flat voice.

"And how do you plan to do that Sakura?" he asked in anger more than the amusement that use to linger in his voice whenever she threaten him before. His eyes swilled as they activated in anticipation for a fight.

"It too late Sasuke." She muttered as the statement rung though his head. He looked down just in time to see his shadow get trapped. He struggled to move as he tried to remember how to break Shikamaru's shadow bind. He watched Sakura as her hand began to glow green with her chakra. He could feel the shadow wrap around his feet as he struggled to move. He couldn't died here no like this not by her hand. He could trap her in an illusion but to what good there were more of them. He could use her as a barging chip to get away but for how long? For years maybe days if he was lucky and to what cause to know that he was hunted by the very same people he once called friends?

Yet he only had himself to blame for that and he knew it but he still didn't want it to end not by her hand. The shadow was now bind around his arms making it hard to breath. His ribs had been broken when he fought with the asshole Danzo if the truth be told he was fighting with everything he had just to be standing. He looked over to Karin only to notice that she had been knocked out he looked back over to Sakura she was standing in front of him now.

"Why do you hide your face coward?" he taunted her as she didn't react to his comment. Her glowing green hand came to his face as he flinched at the contact. She traced the long gash on his face with her finger as he felt a burning sensation then felt like his skin had come together and healed.

" I said I would bring you back to the village when I left Naruto in that hospital bed. The same bed you were in after the exam so many years ago. I told him that this time I would not fail I just never told him the way I was to bring you." her voice cracked at the end and he knew she was close to tears. He could see now that she was determined to do as she said. She was going to kill him and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. She chose the right time to attack when he was physically and mentally drained damaged by betrayals and lies. When once in his life he thought that he might have just maybe taken the wrong path.

She standing in front of him in that Anbu mask seem to be the sign he was looking for. He had been wrong about all of it and he lost what he could've called a home. Now he was a dead man who was about to be killed by his past. She pulled her hand back and taking two fingers she poked his chest above his heart. He felt her Chakra sever something inside him causing his heart to skip a beat. She poked him five times around the heart until he felt the darkness start to come over him. The bitter taste of copper in his mouth filled his mouth.

"Take it off." he managed to say as he his breathing became sort and rapid. she pulled back her hand to stab him one more time before he managed to say. "please." She stop and looked at him as his eyes began to close on themselves. Taking her hand she pulled her mask off. She was crying just as he thought she would be. He managed to smirk at her as the pain made it to his brain making him want to double over. " Shinobi must not...." he struggle to breath "cry...for...traders...like me." as if telling her he was ready to die Sakura plunged her fingers on the last strand that was keeping his heart going. The pain seem to shot up from her finger all the way to her own heart. He slump down on her as blood ran from his lips yet he managed to say "Thank you....Sakur...a" then his heart gave the last beat and he stop moving.

The horrid feeling that ran though her whole body racked her. She fell down to the ground with him in her arms. She just held him there not knowing what else to do. Shikamaru walked slightly over to her as he looked down at her. His face was a mixture of pain and anger. Neji came next as his face showed no emotions but he didn't make eye contact with any of them. Sakura could hear Ino sobbing as Tenten tried to comfort her Choji looked sad as he walked over from his part of the mission.

"The other two were taken care of." he mutter

"And Kiba?" asked Shikamaru though a thin voice

"Taking care of the bodies." said Choji as he tried not look at Sakura who was still holding Sasuke's body.

"Take the women over there out of here." said Shikamaru to choji as he point over to Karin. Choji just nodded and went to get her. Shikamaru looked over to Sakura who looked like she was in a trance. She stroked Sasuke's hair out of his face and wiped the blood from his lip. She wasn't crying anymore but he knew that Sakura had just done something that had broken her very soul. It hurt just to see her there like that.

"You get to come home Sasuke." she whispers to Sasuke's body as if he was still alive. " You'll get to see Naruto again and Kakashi. You get to train with us again and it will be just like before." she told him as tears escaped her eyes she coming to terms to what she had done. "No, you won't" she gasped as more tears escaped her eyes. " Sasuke..." she muttered holding his head close to her chest. "I'm sorry." she cried as she rocked back and forth. " I'm sorry." She cried again as the weight of her act came crashing down her. " SASUKE!" she yelled as went into hysterics.

Shikamaru came over and hugged her as she muttered to herself " I killed him." Shikamaru was having a hard time holding back his own tears as she continued to mutter. " I love him Shikamaru and I killed him."

"Sakura..." he tried but there was nothing he could say to help her. She was beyond gone now. Her hurt was too raw to graving to have words help her. She was a hero but felt like the most vile villain alive. She felt no better than the first time he left. It was like the air it's self wanted to show her pain she never knew. she could still see his ebony eyes open staring at her face as she killed him. She could feel his skin going cold

She was a hero

At the cost of killing the only person she had come to love.

A Hero...

She was a hero...

"Sasuke-kun..."

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**_Ah, I have no word to describe why I wrote this. This in away in a spoiler of the manga if you're not reading it. Is it my prediction of what will happen no. I don't think this will happen to tell the truth I think the honor will fall to Naruto for some odd reason though deep down I wish things would settle and they can all be friends again yet as pig head as Sasuke is I don't see that happening. Please review and tell me what you thought about it. I would truly be grateful if you did._**

**_-Black Wings of the Night_**


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